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Acting Edition

Alabaster
by Audrey Cefaly

Winner of the 2017 David Calicchio Emerging American Playwright

Prize at Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, CA
Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director | Keri Kellerman, Managing Director
 Copyright © 2020 by Audrey Cefaly
All Rights Reserved
Revised 2022 Edition

ALABASTER is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United

States of America, the British Commonwealth, including Canada, and
all member countries of the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works, the Universal Copyright Convention, and/
or the World Trade Organization conforming to the Agreement on Trade
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reading, motion picture, radio broadcasting, television, online/digital
production, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are
strictly reserved.
ISBN 978-0-573-70850-3
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CAUTION: Professional and amateur producers are hereby warned that

ALABASTER is subject to a licensing fee. The purchase, renting, lending
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IMPORTANT BILLING AND CREDIT REQUIREMENTS

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ALABASTER was first produced by Florida Repertory Theatre (Greg
Longenhagen, Artistic Director; John Martin, Executive Director) in Fort
Myers, Florida on December 20, 2019 as the first of an eleven-theatre
National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. The production
was directed by Jason Parrish, with a scenic design by Richard Crowell,
costume design by Charlene Gross, lighting and projection design by
Rob Siler, sound design by Katie Lowe, and original outsider folk art by
Sara Morsey. The production stage manager was Ruth E. Kramer. The
cast was as follows:

JUNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rachel Burttram

ALICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dana Brooke
WEEZY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Carolyn Messina
BIB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sara Morsey

ALABASTER then received an eleven-theater National New Play

Network Rolling World Premiere with support from the David Goldman
Fund for New American Plays. Participating Theaters: Capital Stage
(Sacramento, California), 16th Street Theater (Berwyn, Illinois), Kitchen
Dog Theater (Dallas, Texas), Shrewd Productions (Austin, Texas), Know
Theatre of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio), Phoenix Theatre (Indianapolis,
Indiana), Williamston Theatre (Williamston, Michigan), Salt Lake
Acting Company (Salt Lake City, Utah), New Jersey Repertory Company
(Long Branch, New Jersey), and Oregon Contemporary Theatre
(Eugene, Oregon).
 CHARACTERS
ALICE – a renowned photographer
JUNE – an Alabama outsider artist
WEEZY – a goat (and daughter to Bib)
BIB – a very old goat (and mother to Weezy)
Neither Bib nor Weezy should be dressed like goats. While they may
have the occasional goat “feature,” mostly they walk and talk just like
humans. The goats are not caricatures. They are as real as any human.
They have their own goat language, which – in moments of joy and grief
and everything in between – is genuine and specific. They bleat and bah
as goats do, with intention, creating a real dialogue between characters.
We should be able to see their faces, their expressions, etc. This is vital.

SETTING
Somewhere near Alabaster, Alabama, mid-July. Portrait of an old
farmhouse, mid-morning. The focal point is a master bedroom. An
assemblage of outsider art, stacks of barn wood, and art supplies fill
the corners of this sun-lit room along with a large old bed. The room
should look more like a working art studio than an art gallery.
Also in this picture is a yard, a porch, and a space for Weezy and Bib
(a pallet of straw and a small goat barn).
This place, a virtual canvas, gains color and crispness as the story moves
along, reflecting at any moment the mood or perspective of what the
players experience as well as their point of view through the “viewfinder.”
Projections are encouraged but not required.

TIME
Present day.
 AUTHOR’S NOTES
This is not a friendly farm. Death is known to the inhabitants of this
realm and to the creatures lured into its clutches in a way that changes
them forever. In this story, which spans a single day, we are experiencing
four “women,” each at a crossroads, each facing a wall of fire. Though at
times it may seem like they are simply exchanging pleasantries, they are
quite literally fighting for their lives. In “come to Jesus” moments like
these, worn down by the never-ending savage blows of life, we are faced
with our own mortality. We understand time as a luxury. Weezy is an
all-seeing, all-knowing instrument of the Divine. She is of another realm
and of a higher purpose.
In this world. On this day. The time for pleasantries is over.
Resist the urge to play things “nice.”

Important Note: The scars (predominantly seen on June’s face and back)
may be manifested in any number of ways (e.g. prosthetics, tattoos,
or even projections); so long as they and the SEVERITY of them are
CLEARLY visible to the audience. This is not negotiable. This is a play
about scars. Do not attempt this play unless you can commit to the scars.
For Carolyn
my rock…
my barkeep…
my hero…
 ACT I

Scene One

(AT RISE: Saturday, mid-morning. WEEZY

enters the light. She addresses the audience
as she addresses nearly everyone else around
her: with a neutral, no-nonsense, no-bullshit
tone.)
WEEZY. (More dry than convivial.) My name is Weezy, I am
a goat, I am aware that I am a goat.
(Looking around at the audience.)
We are presently on a small farm in the backwoods of
North Alabama.
(Beat.)
So that’s happenin.
(Beat.)
We are in –
(The unmistakable sound of a goat is heard.)
BIB. (From off.) Mmaaahaaaahaaaaaahaaah!
WEEZY. We’ll get through it together.
(Beat.)
We are in Alabaster, Alabama. Right near Gip’s Place,*
of which you might have heard, the last remainin juke
joint in the state of Alabama. It’s BYOB, which’s nothin

* Mr. Gip passed away during the premiere of this play. The future of
Gip’s Place is unknown.

1
2 ALABASTER

to do with this story, but is useful information on a

Friday night.
(BIB, a very old goat, slightly disoriented
(possible dementia), enters and calls to
WEEZY.)
BIB. Maahaaaahaahaa…
(BIB walks toward WEEZY.)
Maaaaaah…
WEEZY. (To the audience.) That’s my mama. Bib.
(BIB notices the audience. She is highly
put out at the sight of so many unexpected
visitors. She looks at WEEZY and back at the
audience.)
We don’t get many visitors.
BIB. (To WEEZY – “What’s all this, Field of Dreams?”)
Mmah-Maaah…
(During the following, BIB works her way
across the yard to her pallet at the goat barn
giving certain audience members a suspicious
side-eye and griping along the way. At times,
she stops and re-routes herself. It is obvious
she has directional issues. WEEZY helps BIB
along as necessary (ad lib) using directional
comments (i.e., “Around the garden, Mama…
right.”)
WEEZY. (To the audience.) She’s sick. Old and sick.
(To BIB.) You stay off those beet greens, Mama, you
know how they like to repeat on ya.
(To the audience.) I didn’t always know my mama. I
was taken from her when I was real little.
(BIB settles onto her pallet.)
I have no memory of her from before. But she’s here
now. Right.
(To BIB.) OK, Mama?
 ALABASTER 3

(BIB closes her eyes.)

(Lights up on a large sunlit bedroom filled
with stacks of barn wood, paintings, cans of
house paint, and art supplies. On the bed,
a woman sits dressed in a robe, nervously
sipping from a coffee mug and looking
anxiously around the room. Her face, arms,
shoulders, torso, back, and legs are covered in
scars (puncture wounds, abrasions, gashes,
and surgical scars).)
(To the audience.) That’s June. June and me, we have a
connection.
(To JUNE.) Right, June?
(JUNE shoots WEEZY “the bird” then goes back
to looking around the room nervously. In
the midst of all this, there are camera bags,
video and lighting equipment lying around
the room.)
(A photographer (ALICE) enters the bedroom
as if returning from a related task. She begins
setting up her tripod and video camera,
pointing it in the direction of the bed.)
And that’s a new person. She’s not from around here.
(To JUNE.) Just remember, June. You asked her to come.
(JUNE nods nervously in response.)
(Note: JUNE and WEEZY are able to see and
hear each other as if there were no walls
between them. For the duration of the play,
WEEZY moves wherever she likes; she has full
command of the stage, and sits and walks
wherever necessary to communicate with
and observe the other players. Her default
position, however, is in the lawn chair next
to her ailing mother, BIB. ALICE is unaware of
WEEZY’s presence.)
4 ALABASTER

(WEEZY tucks BIB into bed and watches the

action unfold, eating popcorn, drinking beer,
and occasionally commenting on the scene
to the players and sometimes directly to the
audience, as if watching a daytime soap.)
JUNE. (Nervously.) Did you get somethin to eat? People
talk about eatin when they don’t know what to talk
about.
ALICE. I had a snack on the plane.
JUNE. Never been on a plane. I don’t really know anybody
I could fly to, anyway. Well, I know you now, I could fly
to you. Times Square, maybe.
ALICE. See a show?
JUNE. Nah. I wanna eat street food. Mystery meat. On
sticks. Stand there in the middle of it, feel big or feel
small.
(Beat.)
You live in Brooklyn right?
(JUNE takes a sip from her coffee mug.)
ALICE. That’s debatable.
(Off JUNE’s look.) I’m kind of sorting that out.
(Beat.)
Is that coffee?
JUNE. Variation on coffee.
ALICE. What’s the variation?
JUNE. I use Bourbon instead.
ALICE. Instead of / what?
JUNE. (Overlapping.) Instead of coffee.
(JUNE offers ALICE a sip.)
ALICE. Tempting.
JUNE. Gotta be somewhere.
ALICE. It’s the work, ya know?
JUNE. The work.
 ALABASTER 5

ALICE. Nothing personal.

JUNE. Do you know Annie Leibovitz?
ALICE. I do know Annie.
JUNE. What’s she like?
ALICE. She’s hilarious. And very real. And miles ahead.
JUNE. I read some place it’s the photographer’s job to make
their subjects comfortable. She does not…subscribe to
this notion.
ALICE. (Playfully.) Well, we’re not wedding planners. I’m
not supposed to console you, I’m supposed to capture
you.
JUNE. (Suggestively.) I bet that was meant to sound
dangerous.
ALICE. (Playing along.) Did it not sound dangerous?
JUNE. It did not sound dangerous.
ALICE. OK, define dangerous.
JUNE. (Sipping from her mug.) Clowns. Banana slugs. Me.
(Beat.)
We used to let outsiders just come and go but things
have gotten so desperate.
ALICE. (Playing along.) Oh yeah?
JUNE. It’s the inbreedin, we lay traps.
(Suggestively.) Amazin what we catch.
ALICE. Really…?
JUNE. Really.
(Pause.)
ALICE. (Suggestively.) What do you use for bait?
(An electric pause.)
(Interrupting cell phone: ALICE’s phone
rings with some VERY UNPLEASANT
RINGTONE.)
JUNE. Who the fuck is on your shit list?
ALICE. My dad.
6 ALABASTER

JUNE. Solid.
(ALICE digs for the phone in her backpack and
dismisses the call.)
ALICE. Sorry.
JUNE. Alice?
ALICE. Yeah?
JUNE. Breathe.
ALICE. That’s my line.
(ALICE takes a deep cleansing breath. JUNE,
WEEZY, and BIB (almost in unison) take a
deep cleansing breath*.)
JUNE. You need a break?
ALICE. I’m good.
(ALICE resumes setting up her equipment.)
JUNE. So, how many women have you…ya know…
ALICE. You’re number seven.
JUNE. Lucky seven. You just go from city to city…
ALICE. Pretty much.
JUNE. (Intentionally ambiguous.) Got a favorite?
ALICE. Savannah.
JUNE. (Playfully.) Is she pretty?
ALICE. What – oooh, you’re asking me to pick a favorite
woman.
JUNE. ALICE.
Sure. No way.
JUNE. (A new tack.) Do they all have scars like me?
(Pause.)
Guess not.
ALICE. What are you asking?
JUNE. I thought that was pretty straight forward.

* Breathing is an important and recurring motif in this play. These

moments lead us into new territory and create a togetherness,
an intimacy. All breaths should be audible to the audience.
 ALABASTER 7

ALICE. Ya think?
JUNE. (Dryly.) I don’t know what to think, I’m makin shit
up.
ALICE. What was the question?
(WEEZY keeps her attention focused on the
action but talks for the benefit of the audience.
She may rise from her chair and enter the
playing space or the audience space when it
suits her.)
WEEZY. (To the audience.) June likes to push.
JUNE. (To ALICE.) Do they all…have scars…like me?
WEEZY. (To the audience.) I used to think it was the PTSD
from her injuries, but then I remembered, nope, she’s
always been a bitch.
(The energy of the conversation now takes
on a more adversarial tone as JUNE begins to
“push.”)
JUNE. (To ALICE.) Hello?
ALICE. No and yes.
JUNE. Good answer, / duh.
ALICE. (Overlapping.) It’s not about the scars.
JUNE. You’re takin pictures of people with scars but it’s not
about the scars, what’s it about, then, Alice, tell me.
ALICE. (Pointedly.) I think it might be hard to tell you
anything.
(Beat.)
I dunno, fear?
JUNE. Rings a bell.
WEEZY. (Directed mostly at JUNE.) Fear of the unknown,
fear of self-discovery, fear of happiness, even.
ALICE. These women – some of / these women are –
JUNE. (Overlapping.) Why not men?
ALICE. (Overlapping – continuous.) …in a lot of pain
because – NO. Men? Why do people / always ask me
that?
8 ALABASTER

JUNE. (Overlapping.) WEEZY. (Overlapping.)

It’s whatever, do / your (To JUNE.) Let her talk!
thing.
ALICE. (Overlapping.) Can I finish?
(Pause.)
It’s not about the scars, / the scars are a way in.
JUNE. (Overlapping.) You’re gonna tell me / they’re
beautiful?
WEEZY. (Overlapping – exasperated, under her breath.) Oh
my God.
(ALICE waits for JUNE to settle.)
ALICE. They’re a way in.
JUNE. In.
ALICE. I want to be careful here because it’s not like I’m an
expert on scars or anything, but – what I’m learning
is…every scar, every woman, is different. Some women
are still in the early stages, others have…made peace?
I guess? (Softening.) With their physical worlds?
JUNE. And now you’re in it.
ALICE. I feel pretty lucky. Not everyone gets to do what I do.
JUNE. (Calculating.) Why the switch?
ALICE. Switch?
JUNE. From the celebrities.
ALICE. My assignment work, you mean?
JUNE. (Put off by the choice of words.) Assignment. Work.
JUNE. ALICE.
*
I’m not painting you in. Have you been reading
my diary?
ALICE. I needed a change.
JUNE. Just all of a sudden…
(Beat.)

* I’m not trying to paint you into a corner with your art; it’s your art,
your prerogative.
 ALABASTER 9

You spend just as much time with Demi Moore as

someone like me, what’s the difference, really?
ALICE. Is that a serious question? It’s more intimate,
obviously.
JUNE. Not obviously. I’ve seen your celebrity shots, those
are some scarred up motherfuckers.
ALICE. I can see I have to choose my words more carefully.
JUNE. Because you weren’t before?
ALICE. That’s not how I meant it.
JUNE. It’s how I meant it.
ALICE. I’m listening.
JUNE. Why…the switch?
ALICE. I told you, I needed a change.
JUNE. ALICE.
You needed a change And it was admittedly
because you needed a a pat response, but it’s
change? what people say in polite
company instead of the
alternative.
I’m not polite company. Which is the horrible
truth of their lives.
(Beat.)
ALICE. Is that OK? Is that OK, June? If I hang back on that
question. Until I know you? A little better?
(Beat.)
JUNE. (Bratty.) I think you would make a shitty weddin
planner.
WEEZY. (Disapprovingly – throwing popcorn at JUNE.)
Booooh!!!! Boooooooooh!!!
JUNE. (To WEEZY.) Would you – I got it!
ALICE. Got what?
JUNE. (To ALICE, self-correcting.) I’ve got…an apology.
WEEZY. (To JUNE.) Asshole.
ALICE. No. Actually, I’m sorry. Can we start over?
10 ALABASTER

JUNE. Sure.
ALICE. Great.
(WEEZY enters the bedroom area and uncovers
a pile of paintings as ALICE looks up and
around at the art in the room.)
I love all your pieces.
JUNE. Thanks.
ALICE. I haven’t had a good look, but I’d like to.
JUNE. Sure.
ALICE. (Positioning the camera.) Did I see Jim Sudduth over
there? You’re a collector, obviously. I collect a bit myself.
JUNE. Am I scar-ier than Hollywood?
(ALICE adjusts the light on JUNE. JUNE watches
her.)
ALICE. By an order of magnitude. But, I wouldn’t come all
this way just to cower in a corner.
JUNE. You can if you want to.
ALICE. I don’t want to.
JUNE. You don’t want to?
ALICE. (Pointedly.) I don’t want to.
(Another electric pause.)
You answered my ad.
JUNE. Oh, that was my neighbor, Peachy Sawgrass.
ALICE. JUNE.
Peachy Sawgrass. She told me – I know, it’s
a name – she told me you
were lookin for women.
ALICE. Ah. I guess you found it online?
JUNE. I don’t do online. I’m dumb and I have a dumb
phone and I like it that way.
ALICE. (Stunned.) Really?
JUNE. No shit.
ALICE. So…if you don’t do online, how did you find me?
JUNE. (“Duh.”) The library.
 ALABASTER 11

ALICE. Your local library has my books?

JUNE. Birmingham. I called Aggie Nolan at the Five Points
branch, she sends me stuff.
ALICE. You have your own personal librarian?
JUNE. She’s my cousin, she’s also a librarian, she told me
she saw your pictures one time at the Corcoran when
she went up there on a school trip to DC. She wanted
me to ask you why people in your pictures look so sad
all the time and then I looked at your pictures and I
saw it too. The sadness, I mean. Or maybe that’s new
information. To you?
(Beat.)
Are you gay?
WEEZY. (To JUNE.) OH MY GOD.
ALICE. You ask a lot of questions.
WEEZY. (To JUNE.) SERIOUSLY?
JUNE. Are you?
ALICE. Does it matter?
JUNE. No.
(Beat.)
Are you attracted to me?
(Pause.)
ALICE. No. No, I’m not attracted to you.
JUNE. Really?
ALICE. You’re not my type.
JUNE. WEEZY.
DAMN! Not. Your. NICE!
Type?!
Wow… (To JUNE.) You deserved
that one.
(Mostly to WEEZY.) She’s just tryin to do her
Whatever. job, June. Would you
relax?
12 ALABASTER

JUNE. (Bratty. Half to WEEZY, half to ALICE.) Assignments

and clients and jobs. Oh, my.
ALICE. You’re pretty impossible.
JUNE. So many words.
ALICE. Maybe we should stay focused on the work.
JUNE. Yeah, OK.
ALICE. Are you ready?
JUNE. Born ready.
(ALICE sits in a chair next to the video camera
and pulls out a note pad and a pen. Despite
all of JUNE’s bravado, she now becomes visibly
nervous, as one would at a dentist’s office
when implements of torture become visible to
the patient.)
ALICE. OK. So, these questions…just say skip, OK, if you
can’t or don’t want to answer.
JUNE. Skip?
ALICE. Yeah. Ya know, like if I ask you –
JUNE. NEXT QUESTION!
(Beat.)
My head pops off from time to time, just to warn ya.
(JUNE turns to see WEEZY amused but shaking
her head with disappointment. She sticks her
tongue out at WEEZY.)
(ALICE smiles at JUNE who takes a big breath.
ALICE follows with a big breath. WEEZY, not
wanting to be rude, takes a reluctant breath.
BIB, still snoozing, takes a sleepy staccato-
style catch-up breath and then exhales softly.)
ALICE. You’re very brave, sitting there. OK…just so you
know the order, I’m going to ask about the scars first so
I can get the video. We’ll do the photographs separately
when we get the light.
JUNE. Fine.
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